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Flat Earth News

The vile behaviour of the press

Nick Davies
Chatto, 408pp, £17.99,

Peter Oborne

Wednesday, 30th January 2008

Peter Oborne on Nick Davies' new book

The scale of the transgression is epic, yet only a relatively small part of Davies’ horrifying book deals with the methods which form such an adhesive part of media culture. He demonstrates how newspapers work as cartels. He provides pages of evidence that reporters are used by intelligence agencies, above all the CIA but also the British Secret Intelligence Service, to place fabricated material in the public domain. He writes a compelling chapter on the way that PR has captured mainstream journalism and converted it into a tool for corporate interests. He provides devastating evidence showing how Blair used certain members of the press as his accomplices to make the case for the Iraq war.

Davies brings to life only the shoddy and disreputable in British journalism. This means that he ignores a great deal that is salient and good. His methodology focuses on journalistic failure, while systematically disregarding the many ways newspapers shine light in very difficult areas and do tell truths that would not otherwise come out. He is brutal about The Observer, for example, yet does not pay nearly enough tribute to the eclecticism and generosity of spirit of the newspaper during the years when it was edited by Roger Alton. He is unfair to the Daily Mail, a newspaper for which I write a weekly political column. For example, he accuses the paper of manufacturing quotes. Yet the only case he cites concerns the paper’s former New York correspondent Daniel Jeffreys, who lost his job after the practice came to light. He accuses the paper of racism, then pays at best grudging tribute to the paper’s superb campaign to bring the white killers of the black schoolboy Stephen Lawrence to justice. Only the Guardian, the paper for which Davies works, escapes savage criticism.

But these are minor flaws. Davies has performed an enormous public service. His book should be read by every reporter, editor and proprietor as well as newspaper readers. Its real importance goes far beyond journalism. Newspapers and the broadcast media form an important part of the public domain. They should enhance it. Davies shows that much too often we poison it. This passionately argued and shocking book amounts to a call for action and reform. The worry is that the British press will collude to suppress it.

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John Lea

February 2nd, 2008 8:56pm

First para - I was brought up to believe that the word 'media' is a plural - 'medium' being, of course, the plural. Has this changed since the long-ago years of my youth?

Alison Weston

February 11th, 2008 10:19am

I have yet to read the book but it would appear to confirm my fear(and that of a great number of other people) that the manipulation of the press by unscrupulous journalists has been around for a long time. The great damage done by these people - didn't the genocide in Ruwanda come about as a result of incitement by a couple of journos, and just lately the carnage in Kenya? The clean up of the press cannot come too soon.

Ann Taylor

February 12th, 2008 5:01pm

I have ordered the book, I want to read it for myself before passing comment. And is Nick Davies telling the truth? or is it just a ruse to make us buy the book? Presonally I don't buy national newspapers - haven't since they started paying criminals for their stories, I have better uses for my money.

Lucy Bermingham

February 14th, 2008 10:08am

The thrust of much of this book is that journalists are lazy and are spoonfed stuff and don't check the facts. One look at the chapter on the NatWest Three shows quite clearly that Davies has done exactly that.

Adrian Burton

February 21st, 2008 7:52pm

I havent read the book yet, (cant wait actually)though Nicks article published in december (http://www.mwaw.net/2007/12/08/davies/) was extremely interesting.. just as fascinating, is a blog post by Mark Borkowski (Borkowski PR) which answers a lot of Davies' accusations aimed at the PR industry. well worth looking up http://www.markborkowski.com/?p=7345

David Martin

March 14th, 2008 4:51pm

"The tyranny that it proposes to exercise over people's private lives seems to me to be quite extraordinary. The fact is, that the public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing. Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesmanlike habits, supplies their demands. In centuries before ours the public nailed the ears of journalists to the pump. That was quite hideous. In this century journalists have nailed their own ears to the keyhole. That is much worse." Oscar Wilde - and one could follow him with the well known quotes from Belloc, Baldwin and Bevan. I'm sure Davies's book is well worth having, but can there be any readers of the Spectator innocent enough to believe that the only connection between the press and prostitution is that both begin with the same letter?

Rory Connor

April 10th, 2008 10:27pm

In Ireland I am aware of cases where the media published false allegations of child abuse (or covering up child abuse) against 8 Bishops. One of the most notorious individuals has been Religious Affairs correspondent for 2 Irish newspapers and his lies about Archbishop McQuaid were serialised by The Sunday Times. (It was after that he got his second Religious Affairs job.) Another claim helped bring down a Government.

As soon as the lies were exposed the stories sank like a shot and most are now forgotten.

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